Toyah and Robert Fripp cover Hawkwind's Silver Machine

Toyah, Robert Fripp and Sydney Sidney Jake — (Image credit: Toyah)

In their latest Sunday Lockdown Lunch performance, Toyah Willcox and King Crimson founder and husband Robert Fripp have covered Hawkwind's 1972 space smash Silver Machine.

In the video, filmed as always in the duo's kitchen, Toyah – whose flamboyant performance would surely thrill original Hawkwind dancer Stacia – prances around with all the wild energy of a freshly defibrillated ballet dancer, while Fripp bellows along with the chorus and mysterious stranger Sydney Jake adds second guitar. There are also bubbles.

Interest in the Willcox-Fripps has exploded since the UK first went into lockdown, so we decided to explore Google's Trends feature in order to pinpoint the moment at which the frolicsome pair went global.

According to Google Trends, the duo's popularity peaked on January 13, the day after they posted a somewhat frisky cover of Metallica's Enter Sandman, and while they haven't reached such heights in the months since, there was another spike on March 26, a few short days after they filmed their cover of Motorhead's Ace Of Spades.

Popular search terms over the last few months, as the world has excitedly got to know the Willcox-Fripps, include "who is toyah" and "who is robert fripp", while related topics (we're not making this up) include "Sunday lunch", "Gogglebox" and "nipple".

Tune into Toyah's YouTube channel to subscribe to future performances.

Artists

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 40 years in music industry, online for 27. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.